My grandmother collected beautiful china and old books. My memories of the china was that it actually wasn’t beautiful… At eight I found her collection of Staffordshire figurines rather clumsy, and her Meissen angels and other pieces a bit gutless and wishy-washy. (I think I still do – but give me Chinese blue and white, Japanese Imari, old Chelsea, and I’d feel differently.)

Her old books were heavily bound in leather, and were often large quarto volumes. I skimmed Foxe’s Martyrs, was appalled by the despair in the picture of the Slough of Despond in Pilgrim’s Progress, but was very taken with Robinson Crusoe. All these books were illustrated with engravings, protected by a flimsy piece of what seemed like tissue paper.

I hadn’t learned to take liberties with books back then, so I solemnly plodded through Defoe’s dense prose, until I came to the picture of Crusoe seeing other foot-prints on the island – Man Friday’s. I was as shocked and horrified as Crusoe at the implications of this find.

The real Robinson Crusoe was Alexander Selkirk, a sailing master, who in 1704 had fallen out with his peppery captain over repairing the ship. The captain refused, and in the resulting row Selkirk said the ship could go to the bottom without him. The captain seized on these words as a pretext to put the troublesome Selkirk ashore on the nearest island, Mas a Tierra being close at hand.

Marooning was the worst punishment of pirates, and offenders were put ashore with their sea chest, a pistol and one ball. Selkirk, no pirate, regretted his hastiness but it was too late, the captain was implacable. He was lucky in that his seaman’s chest held a Bible, a couple of other books, and various knives and practical items, including some mathematical instruments.

He built two huts from pimento logs, and lined them with goat-skin for insulation. One was his smokehouse and kitchen, the other, some distance away, was his study and sleeping quarters. He burnt pimento logs for cooking and heating in the winter, and found the wood was almost smokeless, and ‘refreshed him with its fragrant smell’

For the first few days he was sunk in depression, but in the long term, he constructed an interesting existence. There were plenty of vegetables planted by seamen who had called to replenish their water, goats had been left there to breed as a source of food for other seamen, while rats had swum ashore and bred so prolifically that cats had been released to control them.

Selkirk quickly ran out of ammunition, so was reduced to killing goats for food with his knife. With no alcohol, no tobacco, no salt-preserved meats, no sugar, dairy, grains or chemicals, no tea or coffee, and with plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, unpolluted air and water, Selkirk’s health improved so remarkably that he was able to outrun the fleetest goats, and often did so, notching their ears as a record of achievement or sign of ownership, if he needed no meat at the time.

The rats, which had swum ashore from boats anchored in the shallows while the sailors replenished their water were a pest, nibbling Selkirk’s feet at night, and invading his stores, so he caught kittens and tamed them, and, in time, dozens of cats shared his hut, protecting him and giving him company.

After a bad fall, he realised that his survival depended on being healthy, so he caught goat kids, lamed them and tamed them too, so that he had a ready source of food. He even taught the cats and some of the kids to dance for a hobby. When his clothes fell to pieces he made replacements out of goat-skins.

There never was a Man Friday – just two Spanish ships which called for fresh water, and getting a glimpse of Selkirk, fired on him and chased him. He escaped them, preferring to stay on the island to being killed or imprisoned and set to work in a mine. When Selkirk was discovered after five years and rescued by a British ship, he found the salt – meat revolting at first, but when he became used to it again, and resumed the habits of the sailors, within a few weeks on board he had lost his incredible fitness and good health.

The natives of the Marquesas Islands told missionaries – and whalers also reported – that they didn’t enjoy the taste of white men, they were too salty and very tough. White men could only be made palatable by boiling, rather than the usual baking in earth ovens! Presumably the seamen who constituted this diet were both skinny and underfed, but gristly with muscle from shinning up masts and pulling on ropes, and had salted themselves with all the salt beef and pork they had no choice but to eat.

So when Selkirk detoxified his body on fish and organically grown meat and vegetables, and lived under these conditions for five years, not just for three weeks at a health farm, he showed how healthy our bodies could be in ideal conditions, compared with the self-inflicted illnesses caused by processed food.

Now three hundred years later, it’s hard to know what to eat that is actually pure, fish is as much a victim to the pollution of our oceans as vegetables grown with chemicals in modern farming agri-businesses, meat reared on hormones and anti-biotics, or processed dairy products.

I suppose the one thing we can do is to cut out sugar, but for most of us, it’s a comfort food, and who doesn’t need comfort? At least sugar doesn’t make us drunk and disorderly. So bring on a nice piece of shortbread with our cup of tea, or the chocolate box, or even a simple coffee and walnut meringue gateau with a glass of delicious dessert wine, and let us laugh and be merry and enjoy the sweetness of life!

Food for Threadbare Gourmets

From the sublime to the ridiculous. In this case, from the bliss of coffee and walnut meringue gateau to the mundaneity of sausage and mash – one of my husband’s favourites. I found a wonderful gravy cum sauce to spice it up for him. Chop two large onions, and fry gently in butter and oil until golden brown. Add two tablsp of brown sugar and keep frying until it’s a deep satisfying brown. Stir in a tablsp of balsamic vinegar, and enough gravy browning or Oxo powder plus stock to thicken to your taste. Salt and pepper. Let it bubble up and serve with good sausages, or as we sometimes do, with a savoury vegetarian loaf of almonds and lentils. (recipe to come)

Food for Thought

I am most entertained by those actions which give me a light into the nature of man.

Daniel Defoe 1660 -1731 was a far more interesting man than his hero. He is considered one of the fathers of the novel, writing nine, including Moll Flanders. He was merchant, journalist, trader and spy, he wrote over 500 books and pamphlets and political treatises and created several newspapers and magazine which came out several times a week and which were written by him.

PS Still having production problems, but console myself with the optimistic thought that everything passes, even computer nightmares, and that the blog will be up and running again soon..

67 responses to “Robinson Crusoe has a message for us”

Valerie, I was transfixed by your fascinating story of the real Crusoe. I had never heard it before and was truly spellbound. How interesting that the change in diet so clearly damaged his health. Do you know whether he did anything about that, or were the sinful foods and liquor such a treat after his five year depravation?

I am looking forward to the recipe for the savoury vegetarian loaf. Loved reading more about Defoe and Selkirk. As a child I had very little processed sugar in my diet. (Rather strange really since I grew up in a sugar mill town!) When I came to boarding school in Christchurch, as a 12 year old, I couldn’t believe how sweet the food was; even the bread. However, a teenage appetite, and hunger, eventually helped me over my initial distaste for sweet food. I am became quite good friends with sugar, over the years, but I still find some foods too sweet for my liking; thankfully ;).

Thank you Gallivanta… yes, I found New Zealand food incredibly sweet when I came here, from tins of tomatoes to biscuits… which also seem to have a lot of rancid coconut in many brands! I laughed and laughed at your sending me the Mr Toad exerpt. I used to read it aloud to the children and we did it for the last time when they were thirteen and fourteen, and enjoyed it even more than when they were little – laughed ourselves silly over Mr Toad and his antics …

I think I enjoyed Mr Toad more just now than I ever have before. I have located my Wind in the Willows. There was a bookmark in the very chapter we are talking about. How strange, because I have not looked at the book for over 10 years. There is a good illustration of Toad as a washerwoman. If you make a small comment on my blog I will be able to send a copy of the illustration in my comment reply. Re the NZ food; the scary thing is that in the years I am talking about there was probably less sugar in the food then than there is now; perhaps?

I can’t seem to get back to the comments on your blog… I’ve got the blog, but no likes or comments… oh well, I’ll have to live without it… I think my daughter has my copy of The Wind…
Interesting that you enjoyed it so much – I find I do, and even Beatrix Potter. I get a lot more out of Mr McGregor , Jemima Puddleduck and the rest than ever I did years ago…Pooh is another one that I apprecuate quite differently now….

Thank you Letizia – lovely to hear from you…and thank you for your warm welcome, and inquiries – all well here!
Yes, I have a love -hate relationship with sugar – I love sweet things, and know I don’t feel good after them !!!

I first learned of the story of Alex Selkirk when researching remote Pacific atolls for my first novel, The Last Resort. I was so taken with the name and the man that I used his name for one of the main characters.

A few years ago i read that a japanese archeologist had found the huts built by Selkirk on his island.

I am certain that you are right about his diet contributing to his health. has me thinking of marooning myself somewhere. So easy to succumb to temptation these days.

Looking forward to reading more from you and sending my fix-it genies your way.

Dear Doug, Thank you, I went rushing to Google to find out more about the Japanese discoveries… how fascinating, including the find of some navigational dividers which Selkirk had in his seaman’s chest ! That is so fascinating and brings his story so vividly into the present. What typically subtle and many-layered meanings in the title you chose for your book… How can we find it to read it? Love Valerie

I think it would take a serious bit of re-writing and then division into four bite size e-books for that work to see the light of day. My co-author and I came close to publication many years ago, but upon re-reading it after we suffered Sisyphus’ fate, I realized that it needs work. Ah, well, I’ll keep you in the loop should that ever happen. (Co-author wants nothing to do with the work end of it and everything to do with any money generated by it.) That field might lie fallow for a while.

A most enjoyable read!
I am encouraged by the thought that the fruit would have provided sugar, so there is no reason to cut that item out of one’s diet. However, outrunning goats would be low on my list of objectives for being fit.
Desert islands are fascinating subjects for stories. Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson and The Admirable Crighton are three that spring to mind.

Hello and thank you – glad you enjoyed it!
judging my my attempts to catch my neighbour’s escaping baby goats, outrunning adult ones would be an impossibility unless one was an Olympic runner , I fear… amazing what hunger will spur one on to !!!
Yes, those are the pleasant island stories… I avoided reading Lord of the Flies !

Valerie, I was so pleased to see you in my email it just sent a thrill of delight up my spine and I came here immediately. This was, as you always are, an informative and marvelous read. Who would have know there was a real Crusoe? Who would have known the reason for boiling White folks was they were to tough otherwise (this one had me laughing aloud and is sure to find its way into a Flash).

Loved your savory gravy, I think I might try it but likely with meat loaf. For my birthday I made myself a Tomato Pie, something we can make only during the Autumn. I think you would have loved it.

Valentine, how lovely to hear from you. So glad you enjoyed the Crusoe story… yes, I had a giggle about tough white folks !!! Can’t remember where I read that, but it was too good not to include ! Hope you can make good use of it !!!
Hope you enjoy the gravy !!!

I have loved reading since I was 5 years old. I cut my teeth on Robinson Caruso, Oliver Twist and Little Lord Fauntleroy! And I adored Heidi! The greatest gift I have ever been given is the ability to read! Thank you! I thoroughly enjoyed you today! 😀 Soon off to work unloading the grain trucks! Havea a great day!

Ah yes, – Little Lord Fauntleroy – another of my grandmother’s
favourites ! I came to Heidi with my stepmother, who considered that much more suitable reading than Fauntleroy and The Wide Wide World !
It’s almost as much fun talking about them as reading them, isn’t it !
Lovely to hear from you….

Fascinating story and history that I had no idea about. Dad is in the process of giving me almost all of his old books before he passes…I think now I’ll put in a special request for Robinson Crusoe; I know it’s one of his favorites and somehow, I’ve never gotten around to reading it. Thanks for the inspiration and information, great post – as always! 🙂

Selkirk’s story is fascinating. I always enjoy a good history lesson.
The fact that his health so rapidly deteriorated after his “rescue” fascinates me all the more and I relate it to my current situation.
Thirteen years ago I purged my diet of sugar or artificial sweeteners. As a result, I was able to quit taking antidepressants.
Seven months ago I was diagnosed with a myriad of food sensitivities and have been reduced to a diet sans wheat, gluten, corn or dairy. This also means that I eat a minimal amount, if any, preservatives.
I’ve lost 20 lbs through this and regular exercise. I’ve never felt better physically. A chronic intestinal ailment I’ve dealt with since my early teens is virtually gone.
While this all lends to feelings of being a social outcast, the rewards far outweigh them.
Thank you for both the history lesson and your unintentional validation. 😉

Hello Rochelle,
Lovely to hear from you, and what a fascinating story you tell.
I think more and more people ( but not doctors) are realising that we truly are what we eat.
I find that food is a minefield these days, what with radiation pollution meaning no fish from the Pacific or even Canada, and all the other imponderables like shell fish from China and the Mekong delta being full of industrial chemicals. Reading labels at the supermarkets means remembering to keep my specs on me at all times!
And yes, I so identify with the gluten intolerance, which means that the only carbs left are rice and potatoes !
Your success story gives me the just the encouragement I need….It must be wonderful to feel so much better, and to know that you’ve done it yourself , love Valerie

I’m happy to encourage. Makes all of it seem even more worth it.I’m an avid label reader myself and can spot different forms of sugar in a second.
The irony in all of this is that I make my living as a cake decorator.
As for doctors, I’ve been fortunate in having one who’s quite savvy when it comes to diet and exercise. She is a godsend for me. Unfortunately, she’s an exception to the rule.
Though I may whine about my restrictions, it was still my choice to follow the doctor’s recommendations.

Yes, I’m slowly reaching the point of no return myself… brown sugar in my occasional flat white in a cafe is the last ditch !!! How funny about your cake decorating ! U have the dame sort of irony in my life – I’ve always prided myself on my cakes and puddings, and always used to make two different ones for lunch and dinner for guests… ah well… nil desperandum !!!!

Valerie, I thrilled with you at the discovery of the beautiful book and the story you told later was just a continuation of that. I’ll have to try your gravy recipe. I’m not a gravy fan in particular, but my husband is.

As for sugar, I think many things are too sweet. We never drank pop/soda when I was growing up and although I put sugar on cereal as a child, I don’t now. I don’t take sugar in my tea, either. I always asked whether or not iced tea had sugar but was in for rude shock one day when I was told no, but realized there were more sweeteners than just sugar!! If I needed sweetener, I prefer sugar to artificial sweeteners because I know the effects of sugar and I don’t of the others.

Janet, thank you so much for visiting and commenting… I so agree with you on the sugar thing… growing up in the war, we just didn’t have sugar, it was severely rationed, and I remember chocolate coming off the ration in 1952, when I guzzled Maltesers!
There were no plump people or overweight teenagers back then, and dentists had almost no work!!!
And when I had my own children, as a hard-up single mother, they only drank water, and rarely had ice-cream – though we had lots of fun !
So glad you enjoyed the blog, best wishes, Valerie

When I was a girl, Crest toothpaste had an ad where a child came home from the dentist and excitedly said, “I only had one”, (one cavity.) I was shocked that that would be something good, as I didn’t have any for many, many years. ;-0

Found this article through Rochelle’s reblog. It’s delightful. Your blog itself is lovely — with the relaxing, comforting color combination. Now, I’m going to have to do some more research into Daniel Defoe.

Love the way you effortlessly compel us to read every word, savouring each morsel and wanting to know more and then rewarding us with food Valerie. The stories that provide inspiration for novels are often as interesting as the novels themselves and I love how you bring out the whole health effect, as we all read and recognise the benefits of that healthy yet challenging lifestyle and then man’s inclination to revert to less challenging habits which ultimately dis – ease the body.

I am reminded of Tom Reiss’s book Black Count, which tells the true story of General Alex Dumas, the father of the novelist Alexandre Dumas, whose experiences inspired his son to write both Georges and The Count of Monte Cristo, stories that are much more well known than that of the man who lived them.

Dear Claire, thank you so much for your lovely comments, lovely to hear from you. Yes, food and life-style are fascinating aren’t they?. We are what we eat, in spite of the disbelief of many in the medical profession… I remember reading your vivid review of the intriguing Black Count, and put it on my list of books I want to read…you are always prompting me to add more !!!!

Don’t worry about that reading list, sometimes having an awareness of a book is sufficient until the day it presents itself to us. I am curious to know if you read about Selkirk in a book or through your diligent research?

HI Claire, I read all that stuff abut Selkirk in a book I bought some years ago, but It’s always stuck in my mind.
The book is called ‘Desperate Journeys and Abandoned Souls’ by Edward Leslie… many of the stories make grim reading. Selkirk was quite light relief !!!
St Exupery is another of the famous people in it, the story of his desert crash being horrendous, but many of the other stories are not well known.
It was fascinating reading St Exupery’s story, because the traces of The Little Prince ” were all there….

So very interesting and informative. It has become hard for people, particularly kids, to resist when these foods are promoted on TV, magazines, and now Internet. I heard on TV that the amount of sugar it contained in a Subway sandwich is the same as 3, 4 donuts…
Such a wonderful read. So happy you are back, Valerie!

Thank you for your welcome, Amy… glad you enjoyed Robinson Crusoe… yes, all those things like TV and Ads make it hard… it’s a long time ago now, but we simply didn’t have TV, and my children drank water, not sweet drinks! they didn’t seem to feel deprived because we were so busy doing things together and having fun !!! Lovely to hear from you…

Though I grew up in a rural area sans library, mother, a teacher who had majored in Literature, was diligent about making certain these books were in our repertoire. I remember her reading Robinson Crusoe aloud, but I was so young it would be like a new book today.

(I just added an item to my bucket list. I SOON want to set aside enough time with my older sister and share, reading aloud to one another, The Wind In The Willows.)

Rochelle tells my story – an alkaline balanced eating pattern with no processed food if possible. My diet is largely plant based, but I enjoy (a little) fish and chicken with some of my veggie meals.

So I was so fascinated with your post! The world’s food production is in such a sad state that I don’t know how we expect so many people, untrained in sustainability and natural growth, to survive and flourish – unless we change our attitudes now. Our best defense is hitting production pocket books and I’ll continue doing my best aiming for that target.

How sad that Selkirk had to fall back into unhealthy eating/living. But how difficult it would have been to exist organically amongst the masses. It’s challenge enough now.

Dear Amy, Good to hear from you… Oh the Wind in the Willows, the fun we had with that when I read it to my children for the last time when they were thirteen and fourteen. Reading aloud is such a lovely sharing thing isn’t it… Yes, isn’t it interesting how many of us can relate to Rochelle’s story… even my grand-daughter when she stopped eating gluten found that suddenly her skin cleared and is now glowing ! As for food in the world… I know what you’re saying. However whenever I get depressed about things my grandson cheers me up by telling me how they’re finding ways in his lab to grow all sorts of different foods from mushroom cells ! Don’t ask me to explain it !!! He even seems to have an answer for water…so I just have to trust that the young and Indigos like him, will find the way…

Yes, I too place great hope on the Indigos. And they will be heard and seen! They won’t be swept under the carpet like the sojourners in the past. We can thank technology for this and the fact we and the planet are waiting.

I’m delighted to know you have first hand knowledge of and access to some budding changes.

I also wonder if Malala the wonderful girl from Pakistan is a crystal child – to hear her words of wisdom is so humbling. In an interview I saw on US TV, the tough male interviewer seemed quite overwhelmed by the beauty of her soul…. they are all so precious, aren’t they !!!

I remember Pilgrim’s Progress so well! (which I recently found was included on the list of the top 100 most influential books ever written) It was the Giant Despair, who takes Christian to his Doubting Castle, that kept me awake at night. I think I was 10 when I first read it. And then there was “The Holy War,” which was the Losing and Taking Again of the Town of Man-soul).

I so enjoyed this post – survival stories are near and dear to all of our hearts, especially now that our environmental issues are threatening our way of life. And I agree that the lives of the authors are even bigger, bolder and dramatic than the ones created on paper.

Starting tomorrow, a Vancouver Poverty activist group has challenged us to see if we could live for one week on $26 worth of food, which is the amount that a single, able bodied person on welfare would be allotted. I am thinking of taking on the challenge.

Rebecca, that challenge sounds a tough one… maybe I should try it too – though can’t see my husband being very happy on starvation rations, which is what it would seem to him…
IF you decide to do it, do let me know – how you managed, and how it felt… I’d love to know.

What a fascinating story, Valerie! Makes sense that if the food we eat tastes different depending on how its grown, that we would be the same, hehe 🙂 Have to say, its kind of scary how differently organic vs non-organic food tastes these days. I’m seriously thinking about spending some time back home with the folks, re-learning the tricks of gardening and bottling, and seeing if I can apply that to my little patch of sandy, shady backyard. I’ve tried my own way, and failed miserably. Time to bring in the big guns!

You’re so right, Alarna – it does taste different doesn’t it, nothing like a handful of beans fresh from the garden or a sun-warmed tomato…
Hope you get the tips you want… I can only grow some things – and wish the possums would stop eating my parsley !

Another fabulous and fascinating read, Valerie! Riveting to read your wonderful telling of the real story behind Robinson Crusoe. I have such a fondness for Defoe’s novels. I love Moll Flanders – a riot of subtleties (if that phrase makes sense!) It’s years and years since I last read Robinson Crusoe – you’ve evoked many memories…

I loved too how your post ended. I was adding to the treat of reading your blog with a cup of tea and a piece of chocolate – and, as I got to the bit about how Selkirk’s health improved with his marvellous diet on the island, I was giving myself a bit of a talking to about the chocolate – and then – yay! you came to the rescue with a celebration of the comfort of sweet things! I think I’ll just go and help myself to another square of chocolate – and another cup of tea – and dream of coffee and walnut meringue gateau!

Hello Melanie,
Lovely of you to comment again… I envy you having read Moll Flanders, I haven’t – just extracts…you have such a profound understanding of literature, which is why it’s always such a joy to read your posts.
Glad you didn’t deprive yourself of the chocolate… life is as unthinkable without chocolate as it would be without tea…( I wrote a blog about tea – ‘the drug we can’t do without’ – it struck a deep nerve in people’s psyches!)
In fact, I think it’s time I had one myself !